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E63 / E64 6 Series (2004 - 2010) The E63/E64 BMW 6 Series builds on BMW's sporty heritage with aggressive lines and an incredible motor to back the design up. Available in coupe and convertible trims with a standard 4.8 liter engine producing 360 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque, the 6-series is a popular choice that exceeds expectations.

Hi, I am at a loss of what to do with my current situation. PLEASE HELP ME!

I bought a 2008 Certified BMW 650i, mint condition, a year and half ago. Beautiful car, amazing ride, only 25K miles. Last week I was driving to work in the morning, and my brakes failed as I approached a traffic light at a T intersection. About 30 feet before I impacted other cars, it seems that my wheel bearing broke, severed off, 4 bolts also sheered off (not twisted and bent or torn off, rather they cracked/broke in half) and then the wheel dislodged from my car. Strangely I can tell you, like out of the movies, after my car came to a complete stop, my wheel rolled up behind me and stopped propped up against my car.

The car had not been serviced with the exception of oil changes and state inspections, since I purchased it from the BMW dealership. It was a certified BMW from a delaership where I was covered under full warranty for mechanical parts, etc. This is not something that I have ever heard of, a wheel should not come off of a moving car. The police report states that the wheel came off prior to impacting any other cars.

Two of the 4 other cars I hit are considered totaled, as is my car. There were no serious injuries, surprisingly, but there is a good period of time for lawsuits to come into play. That being said, my insurance company is not doing much by way of investigating the cause of the accident to go after BMW to pay for costs' associated with the wreck. So I am taking it into my own hands and will try to get my name cleared of my insurance going through the roof, if it was in fact a defect of parts.

Should I send car to a German auto shop to evaluate root cause of accident?
Do I accept the check from the insurance company before I have answers to the cause of the accident?
Should I contact BMW where I bought the car from? And say what?

I would really appreciate any advice anyone can give me. In addition to the 650i, we also have a 3 series and as a result of the totaled car, we want to get a 5-series, so we are LONG TIME beemer owners and lovers

Wow, that sucks! Positive thing is, you're ok! You're in a tank, the 6 can probably slice through most cars, so thank god you or no one else was hurt.

I've heard of wheels coming off before, it happens, just like anything else, machines fail, everything does. Axels even brake and the wheels do serious damage, hell, I've seen it happen. Not live, but I've seen accidents on the side of the road where the wheels were dislodged from the car. Just curious, how fast were you going?

I'm sure more people will have better advice, but I'd seek counsel on what to do. Just talk to a lawyer and throw around some of your concerns. If you're sued, your insurance company will represent you. It sounds strange that they are not pursuing every option to try to find the cause of the accident/problem. Were you issued any tickets, did an accident investigator come to the scene? I mean not just uniformed/beat cops, but those trained in accident reports.

The lawsuits will come, they have a year to file. But I wouldn't worry about that though. That's why you have insurance, it's their problem, not yours. Your accident certainly sounds unavoidable, so it wasn't your fault!

I was in a minor accident once back in the 90's. I was a stupid kid in a nice car and took my eyes off the road for 2 seconds and rear ended someone. He came back and sued me for a million dollars, claiming that he was so mentally and physically injured by the minor accident that he couldn't sleep, work, function entirely. But he wasn't hurt, had minor damage to his car and drove away from the scene. My damage was cosmetic, the only thing that happened was my hood buckled under his rear fender.

To make a long story short, I got a letter in the mail from the insurance company saying I no longer need to concern myself with the matter. I'm not sure if they settled or caught him doing something he shouldn't have. I, myself saw him carrying loads of groceries, boxes of them. I was like hey brah, where's your neck brace, arm brace, cane and your eye twitch!?! Dude was full of crap obviously, thought he hit pay dirt.

Not trying to scare you, just trying to say, don't worry. That accident was my fault, yours was not. Hell, it sounds like it could be BMW's fault, I've just never heard of another issue like yours with the 6. I'm no expert in the law, but I do believe fault makes the world of difference.

Just stay calm and try to relax. Everything will be ok. The worst part is over, the accident itself. Just think what could have happened. No one was hurt and that's all that really matters. Talk to a lawyer before you accept any payment. You're insurance company sounds shady as hell, this could very well be on BMW.

Wow, what a horrible story! You had two things go wrong, first your brakes failed and then your wheel came off???? Holy Smokes. I have seen a wheel come off a car on the interstate at 70 miles per hour, it went bouncing down the road rolling the original speed of the car, it was bouncing 10 feet in the air and crossed over into oncoming traffic. It was a miracle but it didn't hit anyone. So it happens.

First, trying to prove that this is a problem due to the dealer's previous service or BMW will be difficult. You had the car for a year and a half, there was a mechanical failure, it was a used car. So there is no way anyone will own up and say it may have been their fault! Maybe if you had just had your brakes and wheels serviced and had just left the dealer, then you could point out a direct cause and effect. Probably this is the reason the insurance company is not investigating, the car is 5 years old, multiple owners, etc.

I had a company car that spontaneously erupted into an engine fire about 10 years ago. The car was 4 months old, never serviced, never in the shop, with 8,000 miles. I just pulled into a customer site and smoke started coming out from under my hood. Luckily the site I was at had a fella who was quick with the fire extinguisher and we were able to put it out before the car-b-que took it to the ground - or blew up.

I had it towed to the dealer, told them that their car had caught on fire and it was a warranty issue, it was their problem. They told me it was my problem and I needed to file a claim with my insurance. And it turned out they were correct, I filed a claim with the carrier, they then sent out a specialty inspector (not a regular adjuster) to determine if it was manufacturer defect. I had to fight them to make them do that, I was mad that a car with 8,000 miles and 4 months old would have this happen. He could not find anything, so in the end they chalked it up to mechanical failure and it become an insurance claim like if you hit a bridge. It took the investigator 4 months and several trips to come up with this decision.

My point is that it was difficult to get the insurance company to investigate on a virtually brand new car. If it had been 5 years old I am sure they would have just chalked it up as not worth investigating. I had to suck it up and take it in the chin that it was an insurance claim against my record.

22 years ago, I was rear ended by a young mom and her 2 kids. I received the ticket for failure to yield. I was 150ft past the intersection. My Audi 500 had a scratched bumper and her Honda was crunched in the front end. I just knew she was getting a ticket and really felt sorry for her.

Where I got off track was following the police officer around while he was writing his report and I think it pissed him off so he ticketed me, which really pissed me off. That was January. My insurance repaired her car and I didn't even bother having my scratch fixed. May of that year rolls around and I have a sheriffs deputy standing at my door serving me papers.

This 24 year old woman was suing me for a bad back, her husband sued me for lack of consortium, and the kids were suing me for not having a mommy. $500k My insurance offered to settle for $20k she countered with $75k. No deal.

5 years later, we made it to the court room. Again my insurance company offered her $25k...no deal. So for the next 3 days we conducted a Perry Mason trial. The kids were paraded through the court room, the now Ex Husband and the victim. The price has now elevated to $1.5m. Indeed a difficult time for me and my family.

The long and short of it was the jury found us both 50% at fault each. She was awarded $3,200 for medical expenses and I went home and went to sleep.

People will sue. That's the world we live in. In my case justice was served and her attorney who took her case on a contingency basis, lost his ass to the tune of about $35k. I'll bet he never took one of those BS cases again.

Wow - sorry to hear about the bad luck accident. Really sucks the way it went down... it's one thing to take the hit if you are at fault, but it's another if it's your car that is at fault. Despite the mechanical failure, you will be deemed to be at fault and will suffer the loss on your insurance record for a few years.

I'm a corporate attorney and I essentially agree with Mark's advice above - be glad everyone is ok and if the lawsuits come, then your insurance company will defend you. Consult with your insurance company and if they tell you anything that doesn't make sense, then consult with your own lawyer. Best of luck to you and let us know how it turns out.

That is a very strange failure for a BMW; they tend to over-engineer their suspension components.

I have been driving on race tracks for 17 years which puts a massive stress on suspensions, and I've seen wheels fall off all sorts of other marques but never a BMW. Normally wheels fall off due to a ball joint failure or loose lug nuts.

I would guess when you hit the brakes this caused the suspension to fail and the wheel falling off caused the loss of brakes. The bearing and hub are held onto the steering knuckle with 4 bolts. Maybe they were over tightened or failed for some other reason.

Personally I would have an expert inspect the car and try to determine why the bearing failed, just in case someone sues you later for more than your insurance liability coverage. It's a good thing the accident report mentions the wheel came off before the accident which should help if you ever go to court.

One possibility is that someone was trying to steal your wheel, loosened the bolts only to be stymied by the wheel lock. Years ago that happened to my friend and both wheels flipped under the brake assembly.

I am also an attorney and I disagree. While it is true that if you get sued the insurance company will defend you, if they don't settle, and you go to trial you will spend countless hours of your life in depos and court. If they win, and the judgment exceeds your coverage you pay, and even if it doesn't you get hit with a judgment that will likely mess up your credit. I would hire a local trial attorney, pay to have the car inspected by a qualified expert inspector who is willing to testify in court and if the inspecetion show BMW or the dealer is at fault, make an insurance coverage demand now, and be prepared to cross claim against them if sued.

This really sucks. I would be very upset at a failure like this. I know the pain of losing your 6, but hopefully it will get sorted out for the best. Check out my RIP thread if you're interested. It might make you feel better!

Several things come to mind so Ill do it in bullet statements...
1. Seek an attorney, the first visit is usually free. They will sue you and your insurance company no doubt...
2. Have the car inspected by someone the attorney supplies or from a reputable place that can inspect cars in these kind of accidents.
3. if possible after the first two, take the check, buy the car back from the insurance Co and part it out for whats still good, you'll be surprised on the amount of bank you can make from it.

Also you totaled 4 other cars plus yours.......... It must have been horrific.... Whats the complete story?

I wanted to update all of those that gave me advice on steps to take after my recent accident and also who feel my pain of loosing a 650i. My initial post was to gain information on what steps to take as a result of my accident and then to talk to other BMW owners to see if anything like this has ever happened before. As a result of my post, I was contacted by the BMW corporate office in the US and, to make a long story short, BMWs engineers and my insurance company are working together to come to an understanding of what exactly happened. I am in contact with an attorney and feel that I have all my ducks in a row. Mostly, I am grateful to hear that everyone involved in the accident seems to be doing well
I hope that within a week's time an evaluation is made by both BMW and insurance company, and hope that in the end, whatever the outcome, will benefit all of BMW drivers.
More to come….